This invention relates to a catheter means for capturing and holding kidney stones or similar objects in the urinary tract or other passages of the human body. Specifically, this invention relates to a catheter-like device having capturing and holding means at its distal end for enveloping a kidney stone or the like preparatory to disintegrating same by known lithotrity methods.
In the field of urology, it is sometimes necessary to enter the urinary tract or other passage of the human body in order to remove objects therefrom such as kidney stones and the like. In the case of kidney stones, they are usually found in either the urethra, bladder and/or the ureters.
While many devices, i.e. catheters, have been developed for the removal of said objects, said devices when used often bring about a scratching or injuring of the walls of said narrow body passages which is undesirable as such injuries may cause infections and irritations. A typical device for the removal of kidney stones and the like is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,040 to William H. Beecher.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,040, there is disclosed a device which comprises a flexible inner tube and a flexible outer tube which are joined together at their distal ends by an inflatable sleeve. In using said device, the inner and outer tubes are inserted into a body passage such as the urethra to a point where they contact the object to be removed. With the tubes in such contact, a vacuum is applied to the inner tube in order to draw and hold the object against the end of said tube. With the object so held, the inner tube is retracted within the outer tube thus causing the inflatable sleeve to fold over the object as it is held by the inner tube. In this position, i.e. with the object at least partially covered by the inflatable sleeve, the device with the object held therein can be withdrawn from the body passage with a minimum of injury to the passage.
Rather than risk injury to the narrow body Passages by using devices such as referred to above, it has been found that it is safer to disintegrate an object within a body passage and either actively remove the fragments or allow the passive removal of same by means of normal urinary function.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a catheter-like device for disintegrating kidney stones and the like within a body passage and for removing the fragments of said disintegrated stones.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a catheter-like device for capturing, holding and enveloping a kidney stone or the like preparatory to disintegrating same by known lithotrity methods.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a catheter-like device for disintegrating kidney stones and the like wherein said device does not employ liquid and/or gaseous fluids in the use thereof.